Fox groaned as she climbed out of bed. She looked down and saw the bandages had come undone like they had each of the previous nights.
"I need a better solution." She grumbled as she fixed the bandages. Krystal woke up not too long afterward.
"What are we going to do today?" Krystal asked.
"We're getting you a uniform." Fox answered as she dressed in her usual flight suit, "Maybe Fara too. She seemed to have really wanted to join the team."
Krystal put on a shirt, jeans, and black boots.
"Still wanting to wear those boots?" Fox asked, "You do have those hiking boots."
"It's a part of your culture I need to adapt to." Krystal explained defiantly, "Besides, you can't honestly tell me you don't like them."
"It's not about what I like." Fox explained, "You don't look too comfortable in them."
"I can stand a little discomfort." Krystal told her, "After a while, they stopped being as bad."
Fox rolled his eyes as Krystal zipped up the other boot. Fox wondered if she had motives other than "learning the culture". Knowing her, she likely did. The pair walked to the dining room, where they ate breakfast. Afterward, they headed for the recreation room.
"Mission from Corneria!"
The sound of Rob's voice over the intercom interrupted the quiet morning. Sighing, Fox headed for the bridge and Krystal followed. When they entered the bridge, the message from General Pepper played immediately.
"We have a mission for you." the dog-head hologram told Fox, "There are reports of Andronian activity near the planet of Sauria. From what little communication we've managed to intercept and decode, they appear to be looking for something of 'great power'. Your job is to investigate and report back your findings. All available information on the planet, including all known climate, terrain, and cultural information, has already been sent to you. Upon completion, you will receive your standard payment."
"Great." Fox sighed as she sent a message to Fara and turned to Krystal, "Looks like training is postponed."
Fox looked at her communicator and looked up the information on Sauria General Pepper sent.
"Looks like a lot of tropical forest, snow, and desert." Fox told Krystal, "... And lunar?"
Fox walked to the command console and punched in the coordinates for Sauria. The pair then returned to their room and packed for the variety of climates. Krystal then changed into her hiking boots. Afterward, they headed to the docking bay, where they found Fara waiting for them.
"So, what's the plan?" Fara asked.
"We scan the area before finding a suitable landing spot." Fox explained, "Then we find out what they're after."
Fox and Fara checked their rations before the trio boarded their ships. By now, the Great Fox was orbiting Sauria just out of the expected range of the Andronian forces' sensors. After a quick scan, they found where most of the Andronian activity was occuring.
"Looks like a mostly tropical area." Fox told the others, "There's also a frigid area nearby at a higher altitude as well as a temple complex near the heart of the activity. Looks like there's a secluded area with minimal activity. Follow me."
Fox landed in a small clearing and Fara landed a short distance to the south. Fox climbed out and scanned the area.
"So far, just a few large herbivorous reptiles." Fox told the others as they climbed out, "Closest Andronian activity is about a kilometer to the north. The area appears low-tech."
"What are your orders, team leader?" Fara asked enthusiastically.
"Krystal and I will scout out the few structures nearby." Fox told her, "Scout out the area and report your findings."
"Can do." Fara told her, barely able to hold in her excitement. It may have been a minor scouting mission, but Fara was finally living out her dream of working alongside the famed leader of Star Fox.
While Fara began scouting the area, Fox and Krystal headed for the nearest sign of civilization: a tunnel lined by stone brick. After a quick scan of the tunnel for Andronian activity or structural weaknesses, the pair climbed down the wall at the mouth of the tunnel and ventured in. At the end of the tunnel was a curtain hanging over doorway. Inside, they were greeted by a strange floating reptile.
The reptile spoke in an unfamiliar language to Fox, though Krystal seemed to recognize it.
"It's a dialect of a language spoken by a few on Cerinia." Krystal explained, "He appears to be a merchant offering goods for a literal 'scarab' currency."
"They pay for things with beetles?" Fox asked, confused. Krystal exchanged a brief conversation with the merchant and the two laughed.
"His goods appear to include maps of the surrounding areas as well as a few pieces of tech swiped from the Andronians." Krystal explained, "We should come back when we have a few dozen of the currency."
Fox grimmaced. Though he wasn't afraid of bugs, she did find them disgusting for the most part. Fox and Krystal left the shop and climbed out of the tunnel. Once outside, Fox was greeted by the sight of an additional pair of Arwings landing in the clearing.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Fox asked as James climbed out of his Arwing.
"General Pepper hired me to assist." James explained, "There was an increase in activity after he sent you the message. Peppy's back on the Great Fox with Slippy monitoring the situation."
"Great." Fox said sarcastically as she checked her communicator for messages, "It's not like I needed to know about an increase in enemy activity or that assistance was sent. Just surprise me."
Fara returned moments later.
"There's a store in the tunnel and my dad's here. The lizard... dinosaur shopkeeper speaks something that was apparently also spoken on Cerinia." Fox told Fara, "What did you find?"
"Talking rock." Fara told her, "And Falco's here too."
"He's always there when there's someone to shoot." Fox explained.
"So this is your other hire?" James told Fox, "The millionaire heiress?"
"I was a little short on staff." Fox explained, "Peppy semi-retired, Falco was gone half the time, and Slippy spent far more time working with his uncle. I needed more than a robot and a vixen who's only used to ground combat. Besides, she has some experience and she needed to get away from Katt's friends."
Fox's conversation with her father was interrupted by Krystal's staff suddenly glowing. Fox's staff started glowing before a distant explosion was heard.
"Looks like there was an explosion near a large temple." James explained after reading a message from Peppy on his communicator. Fox was barely able to remain upright as she was overcome by a strange energy.
"Are you okay?" Fara asked Fox, concerned about her team leader.
"Did anyone else feel that?" Falco asked, unaware of Fox's near loss of consciousness.
"There's a large Krazoa presense on this planet." Krystal explained to the group, "That could be what the enemy is after."
Fox managed to regain full awareness.
"We need to investigate the explosion." Fox told the group, "It's likely related to that burst of energy I felt."
"First, we need to get you medical attention." James insisted, "A quick medical check to make sure you're not going to collapse on us in the middle of a firefight."
"Fine." Fox groaned, "But the Andronians need to be stopped as soon as possible. Whatever they're doing, it's definitely not good."